


Papillon

by QueerCosette



Series: Let Me Be Loved [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Break Up, Break Up Talk, F/M, Marinette Is An Amazing Singer, Pining Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Rilo Kiley - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22240888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueerCosette/pseuds/QueerCosette
Summary: Luka and Marinette duet on the deck of The Liberty as they realise it's over for them.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Original Female Character(s), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Let Me Be Loved [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568452
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	Papillon

**Author's Note:**

> ...I really can't resist mentioning María. I just love my dumb daughter so much.
> 
> '10 Times' can tie into this (if you haven't read it, feel free to) but if you can't be bothered reading it, Carlotta is Marinette's cousin on her father's side, grew up in Spain, and in '10 Times' moves to Paris with her family, but in this can alternatively be staying with Rolland over the holidays.

_“It’s a mystery,  
_ _What she does to me!  
_ _Can I make her see how I feel?  
_ _It’s a mystery,  
_ _Could she care for me?  
_ _Will my fantasy ever be real?  
_ _Or will she stay a mystery?”_

Marinette sways gently as Luka, Adrien and Ivan play the song’s outro, Adrien using a setting that gives the whole thing a vaguely surreal sound. She feels eyes on her as she watches Luka, but when she glances in Adrien’s direction he’s staring at the keys as he plays the final ringing note.

The deck of The Liberty is hotter than a skillet pan, and Juleka lays down her bass in the shade. “There’s lemonade downstairs,” she says, her voice quiet, but still louder than usual.

Ivan licks his lips, sticking his drumsticks in his back pocket, and Rose whoops and skips after him. Adrien is the last one to follow, and this time when he glances back Marinette is watching him. Their eyes meet, with a spark of confusion passing between them, before Adrien’s cheeks colour for some reason (maybe he’s been in the sun too long?) and he tears his eyes away and heads downstairs.

He’s been quiet for the entire rehearsal.

Actually, now she thinks about it, he’s been quiet at every rehearsal she’s gone to since the last proper gig.

(She forces herself to ignore that that’s when she and Luka came out as a couple, because it sparks off hope that she can’t have any more.)

Her eyes follow Adrien down the stairs out of habit, before she remembers Luka and snaps her gaze guiltily to the deck.

“He has feelings for you, you know.”

Marinette looks up at her boyfriend. “Huh?”

“Adrien,” Luka explains, retuning his G, which has slipped down in the heat. “He has feelings for you. And I’m pretty sure he’s realised it – or at least, nearly realised it.”

Marinette shrugs as casually as she can with her organs seemingly starting an Arcadian Strip-The-Willow. “So what. That’s all ancient history.”

Luka sighs, smiling a little. “You don’t need to lie to me, Marinette. I know you still have feelings for him.” He pauses, avoiding her gaze. “Lotta told me.”

Marinette senses there’s significance in the way he says her cousin’s name. Maybe once, she would have felt jealousy. But for some reason, she doesn’t. “You two hit it off, then?” she asks, no malice in her voice. Carlotta loves the ocean; Luka was raised on it. Luka is an incredibly talented musician; Carlotta is maybe the only teenager Marinette knows who could outplay him – if armed with an electric violin. Luka bikes; Carlotta skateboards. Carlotta is fierce with a sweetness she only shows to people she cares deeply about; Luka is quiet and kind with a temper that only appears when his loved ones are threatened.

They’re a good match, and she can admit that with absolutely no bitterness.

Luka smiles wider than she’s seen in the last few weeks, now strumming chords to make sure none of his other strings have slipped. “She’s something else. We ended up having a musical duel; she played an improvised version of Phantom Of The Opera over me full-out shredding without even breaking a sweat. And Rolland made bread for me to take home. I think he likes me.”

“I’m impressed,” Marinette chuckles. “He still hates modernity, but I think he’s trying. For Lotta. He sees himself in her. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a human breadbin, either.”

Luka chuckles, but his face quickly sobers. “And she told me what you told her – that you’re still in love with Adrien. It’s OK,” he adds hurriedly, upon seeing Marinette’s expression. “I kind of already knew. And she didn’t really mean to tell me. It just accidentally slipped out. I think she’s just one of those people who says things without thinking, rather than to be unkind.”

“That’s Carlotta for you,” Marinette laughs. Carlotta is certainly incredibly intelligent – her aptitude for learning things like electric violin and the history of cetology speak for themselves – but she’s never seemed to be able to learn how to use tact or diplomacy.

Luka might help her with that. And maybe María can help Luka be less hesitant.

Luka plays a soft riff on his guitar. “She looks at me sometimes, when she thinks I’m not looking,” he says softly. “It’s the same way you look at Adrien. Like you’re wondering if he’s ever looked at you like that.” He plays an open C. “He does, by the way. Look back, I mean.”

Marinette trails over to Adrien’s abandoned keyboard, stroking the plastic keys. “I know,” she says quietly. “But he’s with Kagami. I don’t have a chance right now – not a real one. But you do. With Lotta.” Luka’s guitar cuts off sharply, and she meets his shocked blue eyes. “She likes you. She told me – on purpose. But she won’t make a move, because she thinks it would hurt me.” She plays a few notes experimentally. “But even though I can’t be with Adrien, there’s nothing stopping you from being with her. You like her too. You haven’t smiled like that in weeks. And I know you’re with me, and would never make a move on someone else while you’re dating someone. But there’s an easy solution to that.”

Marinette has always thought that breakups would hurt horribly, but to her surprise, she finds it almost… easy, just as she’s said. There is no point in Luka staying with her if he’s falling for someone else. They’d just be kidding themselves.

Luka seems unable to say anything, so Marinette plays a little riff on the keyboard before sinking into a soft chord. _“Papillon busted free,”_ she sings, and Luka strums along on autopilot, recognising the song, _“though it took him 'til he was sixty-three, and nobody cared about the Goddamned inquiry. And Degas stayed on the farm, though he found no cause for alarm. It was a hell of a swim but he still had two good arms…”_

Luka plays a little riff, which she echoes on the keyboard, and they sing the chorus together.

 _“Gorillas are for eating,  
_ _Don't you know it's true?  
_ _I fell in love with you.  
_ _And don't you think it's sad?  
_ _'Cause here we both stand  
_ _Amidst the wreckage of our past…”_

 _“And I'll spend the day with you,”_ Luka sings. _“We'll meet at your house after two.”_

 _“You're the most exhausting girl I ever knew,”_ Marinette joins in on a harmony, almost impulsively, before falling silent again.

 _“And when you let me leave I'll go, I'll let you get back to your phone.”_ Marinette almost laughs, but the line is too accurate. On autopilot, she joins in with the harmony again. _“You mean well, love, but you're all talk and no show.”_

 _“Pick your lips 'til they're bleeding,”_ they sing together. _“Don't you know I fell? The lair of the queer devil is deeper than you thought. The computer's still on, and the webpage is alt.com…”_

Luka slows down and plays a different melody, and they continue to sing together, dropping all harmonies except for the difference between their own voices. _“And I hope you'll come back soon… And I feel like a million buck today, a million bucks today! 'Cause I know it can only go up from here – 'cause she says it's so much better after all!”_ Marinette plays a short scale to end the bridge.

 _“After all we been through, I can't get my mind off of you,”_ she sings. They both know she’s not talking about Luka. _“It's a hell of a way to spend the whole day through.”_

 _“And you left your name on the bar,”_ Luka echoes, and Marinette knows he’s not talking about her either. _“You hopped in your little brown car, you moved in with Gramps and you got yourself a job.”_ Once again they sing together, slowing down completely.

 _“And the room is slowly sinking, but I can play guitar, and darling, you're so far away from me tonight! And I'll try to make it right, by putting you in this here song… Oh yeah!”_ Luka speeds up again. _“Okay! Okay, wait – oh my God, babe! That's what she said…”_

 _“In bed,”_ Luka quips, his guitar slowing back down. Marinette plays a soft chord on the keyboard.

 _“Papillon busted free,”_ she sings quietly. _“We watched him at 4.53, and I'm glad you chose to spend the night with me.”_

There’s a moment where they let it ring, and then Luka puts down his guitar and they meet in a tight hug.

It says everything else the song couldn’t.

Rose pokes her head up from the stairs. “Are you guys coming down?” she asks cheerfully.

Marinette and Luka break apart, smiling sadly at each other, before turning and following Rose downstairs for lemonade.

When Adrien hands Marinette the glass he saved for her, Luka only smiles, happy for her.

And when Luka checks his phone, and he grins at it the way he used to grin at Marinette, Marinette only feels glad for him. She and he would have never worked out long term.

But she’s still glad that he (metaphorically, of course) spent the night with her.


End file.
